The artichokes should remain in the ground in autumn as long as the weather permits, and be fed out of the field during that time, and just before the earth is permanently frost-bound, enough of them should be dug up to last over winter; and, since frost does not injure them, the rest should be left in the ground until the following spring. A good way to keep them in winter, is to place them on the ground in the field in shallow layers, covering them lightly with the stalks of the artichoke, or with straw, and then with a little earth. If the rain wets them it will not injure them. It is advisable always to keep a considerable quantity of them in the stable or cellar for convenience of feeding. In the ensuing spring, they are again fed out of the field until it is time to plow the land, when all the tubers not yet disposed of, are taken up and kept in the cellar or stable.
THE STALKS
of the Jerusalem Artichoke furnish excellent material for litter for the cow. They grow to a hight of from eight to ten feet, are composed almost entirely of pith, and are so fragile that they can easily be broken into fragments. As many of them should be stowed in the stable as it will contain, and the rest, if any, should be stacked outside. Before bedding the cow with them, it is advisable to crush them with a mallet on a block prepared for the purpose. This labor will require but a few minutes daily to provide sufficient litter, and will make a comfortable bed for the cow, absorbing and retaining the liquid manure. The stalks cannot be used for fodder after being frost-killed.
If the food of the cow should at any time run short the deficiency must be supplied, for it will not do to stint her, and if it is ever found necessary to change or modify her diet, it should be done.
I have allowed three-quarters of an acre for the sustenance of the cow, and this will be sufficient, but only on condition that the land is in good heart. If the land is poor at the start, it will be safer to begin with more, and afterwards to reduce the quantity to three-quarters of an acre, as the soil increases in fertility. The value of clover as a renovator of the soil is well known, but the Jerusalem Artichoke is equally efficacious, if fed on the farm, for it attracts its nitrogen to a great extent from the atmosphere. The dairy-farm now under discussion possesses all the advantages that can be derived from these plants as fertilizers, and as the other crops raised on it do not injuriously exhaust the soil, being cut before they produce their seed, the land will improve indefinitely in fertility.
THE CALF AND THE CARE OF IT.
Since the plants here recommended for the nourishment of the cow, afford the best milk-producing food the whole year round, the time of calving may be left to the option of the owner, for it will not affect the quantity of milk that the cow gives. If the milk is mostly needed in summer, the cow should calve in spring, and if it be desirable to have more milk in winter, she should calve in autumn. I might add, that if the butter, or a part of it, is to be sold, it will be more profitable to have the calf in fall than in any other season, because butter brings the highest prices in winter.
The disposal of the calf depends on circumstances, of which the owner is the best judge. If he concludes to keep it on account of the value of the breed, or for any other reason, he should raise it by hand, not allowing it to suck more than three days at furthest. For the first few days it should receive only the fresh milk of the cow; afterwards it may be fed on warm fresh milk, skim-milk, buttermilk, whey, and hay-tea, until it is old enough to subsist on solid food. Fresh milk should be the leading diet in the beginning, and should be gradually diminished in quantity as the calf increases in strength. Hay-tea is made by pouring boiling water on hay, and letting it steep for about two hours. If the calf is not to be raised, it ought to be sold before it is a week old, because the milk that it drinks before it is ready for the shambles, is worth more than the price it will bring. If a purchaser for the calf cannot be found while it is so young, it is most profitable to kill it, and bury it in the compost heap, as soon as the milk of the cow is fit to use. I simply state this as a fact, without recommending it to be done, for it is cruel work; but so is any butchering, and if the calf is to be killed, it really matters not how soon it is done. The sooner it is removed from the cow the less she will grieve for its loss.
CALVING.
The cow should be milked as long as her milk is good, or until she runs dry, which may in some cases be six or eight weeks of calving (in others not at all.) Her rations should be curtailed a little for a short time before that period, in order to carry her safely through the crisis. After she has the calf, she may receive warm bran-mashes for a day or two, containing a little of her own milk, and should not be fully fed for the first few days. This treatment is all that is required before and after the period of calving. The cow will generally pass through this event in safety, without assistance. Should there, however, be a false presentation, or other difficulty of parturition, the best thing the owner can do, if he has no experience in the matter, is to call to his aid a veterinary surgeon, or a neighbor who knows what course to pursue in such cases.